Snapedom

Thanks for the food for thought you present - nice essay! A lot of it makes sense to me, particularly the way you chart Sev's rise through the ranks over time (and yes, how bitterly ironic it must have seemed to him!) and Voldie's decreasing humanity. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind signing up with post-GoF Voldie out of any sincerity, but with a younger, more human and more charismatic Tom Riddle - yes, that's more likely.

I've often thought that the Prophecy and the flying trick (which I'm fairly convinced Sev invented) were helpful to Sev in gaining Voldie's favor - give Voldie the Prophecy, up a rung on the ladder; teach him to fly, another rung or two. And Sev would be careful not to fall back down too quickly or often.

I'm torn on the issue of the 'necessary sacrifices.' On the one hand, canon gives us evidence that Sev has very likely never actually killed before, directly or indirectly, other than the Potters. But I also find it somewhat implausible that he managed to get so high in Voldemort's favor without ever actually giving him information that verifiably led to concrete damage against the Order. Voldemort's too paranoid not to notice that at some point. So I tend to lean towards one or two 'necessary sacrifices' and close calls...and that Sev simply feels enough remorse over them that it mends his soul. But really, I don't know.